I left the Eastern operations out of my post because they serve a niche business market, whereas the Jet 2 and Wideroe flights were aimed largely at the tourist market.

I believe so. Plenty of retired folks in Bournemouth hail from North East England. I do the route regularly for VFR purposes and generally use one of three options, depending on times and fares:

(i) flybe NCL-SOU then train;
(ii) train to EDI then Ryanair to BOH; or
(iii) Ryanair NCL-DUB-BOH.

A direct service would be great.

Quite a few ex-charter routes that were once served now missing from the destinations map.

It is great all this talk of management should do this and be talking to all these different airlines, but in this current climate lets be realistic. Yes we maybe showing signs of coming out of the recession, however lets bare in mind that airlines have shed staff and aircraft and amended projections, expansion plans etc to reflect a slow, natural growth in the near future and while I would love to see NCL busy, as it was 1-2 years ago I suspect airlines will be very choosy over any new routes, making sure that the finances are in place and assured of a guaranteed good, solid and steady yield, which sometimes (and I only say sometimes) a regional airport cannot guarantee across the board. Some routes, using the low cost or regional style of flying could and probably will work, sustaining a good mix of low yield leisure/VFR and business custom, but I am dubious of full service legacy style operations. Lets see what the future holds, though I am sure that for everything that has been mentioned above, the management will be talking to airlines, persuading them to come to NCL - I wouldn't imagine they'll be just waiting and sitting around, afterall there is alot of spare capacity in NCL which the management will want filled, be in regional, international, low cost, scheduled or charter!

On the subject some old charter routes:

Santorini
Mytillene
Agadir
Pula
Dubrovnik
Volos
Athens

transwede - agree with your post 100%. Another point worth bearing in mind is that next year we are, if the polls are correct, going to have a tory government. This will have a huge affect on the UK airline industry as they plan to hammer it harder than Labour. BA have already announced that the loss of the plans for a third runway at LHR, which Cameron and his mob are committed to scrapping will mean NCL and other regions are likely to loose the LHR routes as the slots will be needed elsewhere.

The added challenge for the airline industry appears to be a political system which now sees the UK airline industry as the new 'kicking boy'. Hearing politicians speak of pricing folks out of flying fills me with dread. I even heard a debate at lunch time on the radio in which Stephen Norris (former tory transport spoksmen) suggested instead of flying to the likes of Malaga we should use the train, he obviuosly has not travelled on the UK railways for a while. In the same program it was stated that a future tory government should stop all long haul ambitions for the likes of NCL and LBA airports as we are so close to Manchester we can travel by train and fly on from there - God help us all.

Did they say how this would be done - sounds a bit anti-competitive to me...

I would advise against getting all political.

Rising APD, Corporation Tax, VAT back up is hardly the stuff of dreams....

Andrew,
This IS unfortunately a political issue, fiscal references aside, we have lunatics running the asylum in Whitehall who have for decades regarded civilisation as stopping North of Luton. They will stop at nothing to ensure that they can meet their emission targets at the expense of all else. If the result of this is to use up national emission quota's to pass R3 at LHR then their attitude to every other region is F*** you!, the justification being that "it's in the National interest". Problem is this is irrational as they only think as far North as Luton in any event when thinking of the nations interests.
I recall reading some months back a list of projects that would be restricted / canx. if R3 was to proceed as with emission quota's hijacked then effectively all other UK airfields future development would be placed on hold. Of course this will restrict the longhaul ambitions of regional airports such as NCL & LBA. However in the next breath we have the usual "green" idiots suggesting that domestic services should be severly curtailed without any thought as to other consequences. It's far too easy to site rail as an alternative, i.e. the ancient, inadequate, and underfunded network that is basically incapable of improvement without the sort of investment "nationally !" that would fund several R3's.
SWBKCB Simple they reject planning applications, reject funding proposals on basis that the result will exceed the UK's emision quota's !, the description "competitive" will simply be swept under the carpet !

Jamesair

Wideroe operate 50 seat turboprops and are a business airline, not lo cost flying 25yr old 737.s

Andrew - we have a right to get all political if we have a political party likely to win the next General Election and they have no desire to see any form of aviation industry growth in the regions. If the tory plans see the light of day we will see huge job losses in our industry, airlines pull aircraft out of the UK to the continent where they will be welcomed with open arms and a situation where only the very rich will be able to fly out of the UK.

The revenue loss for regional airports will be tremendous and we could see traffic fall back to levels of the early 80s, whilst LBA and NCL will survive will struggling airports like MME and HUY be able to?

I think you're about to open a whole can of whoop ass.

Our illustrious leader has led us to the brink of financial oblivion generally, introduced APD which in some cases will be £170 per departure from November next year, added VAT to more things, risen corporation tax and about every other tax.

For the record too, the Tories sad they would abandon R3 at LHR so that argument doesn't really stack and with the afirmation that expansion shuld continue at BHX, MAN, GLA, EDI and not to mention NCL's master plan the whole stick to London isn't a runner either.

One of the major reasons why pax numbers are down is due to the public having bog all money due to our current masterful avoidance of boom and bust. Just bust it seems.

MME and HUY don't deserve to survive if they can't modify and adapt and find markets and products punters want to buy, there isn't a case for a public service rationale behind them in any event.

NCLFlights - What policy is that based on? (other than any stereotypical ideas you might have)

Skyman771 - What is wrong with advocating rail? You say its
"ancient, inadequate, and underfunded network".

Smple fact - barring miracles, I can get city centre to city centre Newcastle to London in 3 hours. A fairly even match with the slickest plane trip, usually comparable cost on an average lead time for booking, emit a fraction of the CO2 and generally have a comparable experience. Not with 170 others but around 600 others. I accept air is best on some routes but the fact is the train is better on others. Until T5 opened your description of the rail would apply to LHR too.

And of course, don't forget that the lunatics in Whitehall haven't been Tory for 13 odd years. I'm sure someone will manage to bring in the miners strike, the common market and the shipbuilding industry due to personal prejudices or beliefs and render the whole political argument pointless anyway.

Andrew I'm sure that a similar comment was made early - mid 19th century when some one "the wiser" made a remark complementing the stage coach network, before the advances of the industrial revolution. Everything is relative !
If you can not see that there are not major improvements that could be made to our rail network then it would appear that you have not travelled on another rail system, even one as close as France, or been fortunate enough to travel on the Japanese intercity rail network.
Deviating back to the issue then do you really believe that the Tories would abandon R3 & that everything will be "hunk dory" up North and that the NCL master plan now has has much, if any relevance at all ?

zurich flights
 

Have we had direct flights to zurich before? Do u think these flights could work

An announcement on the EasyJet thread suggests that they are about to launch a ton of new routes throughout Europe, many from the UK. Stuff from Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Gatwick and Doncaster but as usual nothing from Newcastle.

Wasn't NCL vaunted as one of the best performing bases a couple of years ago? I can't imagine the management are deliberately trying to annoy EasyJet and it is in their interests to get as many routes started as possible from any airline, so why nothing new from EasyJet from NCL?

I'm unsure as to where the concept that EZY have some sort of love affair with NCL comes from.
Couldn't be further from it if mutterings of some of the aircrew are to be believed, lower no.'s of based pilots more "W's" etc.:(

ezy
 

Easyjet have just reduced staffing numbers at ncl. Can't see them basing any new aircraft at ncl for least 12 months or I think the staff that have been let go may take legal action. The best we can hope for is easyjet adding routes to ncl from There other bases. Some longer routes with thereA320's would be nice

Flybe have listed the 16 new routes, unfortunately none of them are from NCL

Newcastle in decline!!!!
 

I know I am from south of the river.but .its good to see Newcastle suffering as well!!

Easy jet...nothing......apart from Robin Hood !!

Fly Be....nothing(HAj x 3 !!!)

Everyone else...nothing

Route Conference..nothing(except nice expenses?)

Staffing(middle management increasing!!)

sounds like similar pattern to to DTV !!

Doomed...we're all doomed!!

Andrew -I have no prejudice towards any political party, however this is forum that deals with the airline industry and of the two main political parties a tory government, based on their current ideology, would be worst for the future growth of Newcastle airport and indeed UK aviation on a whole.

Whilst their is plenty to attack the current government on it must be remembered that it was on Tony Blairs and Gordon Browns watch that the UK 'no frills' airline industry grew at a fantastic pace. Granted this was in the whole due to the appraoch of easy credit but lets not forget the main aim of this forum is to deal with the airline industry or is it?

EASYJET
 

Is it not the case that they have cut the number of aircraft based at NCL for summer 2010 to 5 from 6 in 2009. Was there not 7 aircraft based a couple of years ago. So they seem to be in a slow but steady decline.

Brussels
 

Just to note that Brussels will increase from once daily to 3 x daily (starting January 10th) albeit with smaller ERJ 135/145 aircraft (wet leased from BMI by brussels airlines):

NCL-BRU 0625-0845 * ER4
NCL-BRU 1205-1425 * ER4
NCL-BRU 1805-1850 * ER4

BRU-NCL 0935-1005 * ER4
BRU-NCL 1530-1600 * ER4
BRU-NCL 2000-2030 * ER4